One of Uptown’s newest restaurants, Bonchon, opened earlier in October and has been bustling ever since. Specializing in Korean-style fried chicken, Bonchon is recognized internationally for its authenticity and Korean twist on other foreign dishes.

While Bonchon may not be the best choice for a budget meal, its menu is very diverse, ranging from simple, Korean fried chicken in the form of drumsticks, wings, or boneless wings, to wraps and tacos. An average dish at Bonchon is around $12-16 with the price going higher to $24-34 for a medium-sized or large-sized plate of fried chicken. But the price is justified, as you’re receiving some of the best chicken in the Twin Cities.

Like a traditional restaurant, a hostess asks for the party and either seats you immediately or gives you a paging device that lets you know once your table is ready so that you can do some exploring nearby. There isn’t a large area for seating; depending on the time of day, wait times can be up to 30 minutes long. The menu was very easy to follow as the pages were made up of full-page images of select dishes and organized accordingly, but it might be difficult to decide on since everything looks appetizing. The wait time for five dishes (including the fries) was around 20 minutes.

Seasoned french fries topped with parmesan cheese and parsley flakes, one of the sides offered at Uptown’s Bonchon.

While the overall presentation was fantastic, there was some inconsistency in quality when it came to the food. Both the drumsticks and wings were delicious; each bite was fried to perfection and the flavors were very juicy, as Korean fried chicken should be. The boneless wings, on the other hand, did not meet expectations after eating the drumsticks and wings. Although well seasoned, there was a distinct lack of moisture on both the inside and outside of the chicken, creating an unsavory and crunchy shell of fried chicken. For the spicy versions of the chicken, be warned: it can get very uncomfortable for those who are not accustomed to eating spicy foods. The seasoned fries were on a completely different level compared to fries from fast food restaurants; perfectly crispy, evenly fried throughout, mixed in with their house seasoning and parmesan cheese.

The customer service was fantastic; the waitresses do their best to listen to your questions or concerns. They also seemed to know that we would need lots of water to rinse down the spicy boneless wings; we ended up having our glasses refilled many times.

If you’d like to try having your mouth sizzled, Bonchon is located in Uptown Minneapolis at 1414 W Lake St. and is open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Keep in mind that parking can be troublesome as the only options are either parallel parking or finding a nearby parking lot; both require payment.

Mounds View High School senior Chihiro Gustafson has been bike racing competitively for four years. On Oct. 17, at an away football game against White Bear Lake, Gustafson bike raced a fellow biker friend, Ian Hase, 12, two times around the White Bear High School track. The event spurred huge fanfare, and a now-viral video of the scene depicts the two bikers racing as the student sections of both schools cheer them on.

Gustafson has always been on the lookout for ways to promote the relatively unknown sport of high school cycling. “Finally, I had the resources to do it with my friend Ian from White Bear. He mentioned, ‘What’s a way to promote high school cycling?’ And I was like, ‘Hey, why don’t we do this!’” said Gustafson. They decided to race at a football game to showcase the sport.

After agreeing on this idea, they took the necessary steps to make the event happen. Both students contacted their school athletic directors and principals, signed waivers and from there, it was set. At the Mounds View versus White Bear football game halftime, the two athletes raced at full speed around the track twice while the stadium filled with applause. The race was a never-before-seen spectacle at a high school football game. Soon enough, the video went viral, serving as a positive promotion of high school cycling as well as a memorable, unique experience for all that were present.

“I think it like was one of the major highlights, and it was really cool being able to race in front of peers. You just don’t really get to do that at the races. There’s a bunch of people cheering for you, but this is close to home,” said Gustafson.

At the end of the day, both Gustafson and Hase saw it as a wonderful opportunity to show their love for their sport. “To us, it didn’t matter who won. You know, it was about the fun of the race and making it exciting for everyone,” said Gustafson. Both cyclists, as well as the spectators, will recall that game as a night to remember.

On Sept. 26, 119 new members were inducted into the Mounds View chapter of National Honor Society, or NHS. NHS is a nationwide organization that recognizes students who demonstrate scholarship, service, leadership and character, the four pillars of NHS, both inside and outside the classroom.

The induction ceremony began with an introductory speech by library media specialist and NHS advisor Becky Stouten, who stepped into the role just this year. “I wanted to be more involved with students and things that are going on here at school, and I just see some areas that I think I can add to the program,” said Stouten.

A new advisor is only one of the changes made to NHS this year. In preparation for the current school year, the presidents and executive board worked in conjunction over the summer to revamp NHS, resulting in changes to the NHS rules and requirements and new additions such as a portal and app for NHS members.

The portal and app are part of the hybrid mobile platform was designed by co-vice presidents Vicky Li, 12 and Aarthi Vijayakumar, 12, and technology coordinator Abhishek Vijayakumar, 12, to make communication easier within the NHS community. Some unique features of the portal include the tracking of volunteer hours, easy access to policies and reminders on upcoming events.

“As [Vicky and I] were thinking about what we could bring to NHS the following year, we realized that throughout the year, communication was a huge issue for NHS as a whole, and especially for the executive board, so we were thinking about how we could change that,” said Aarthi Vijayakumar.

There are also more mandatory service event options this year; in addition to Pennies for Patients, Music for Mounds View and Thanksgiving Baskets, there will be a Mental Health Walk in May headed by co-presidents Nate Moller, 12 and Chris Jin, 12. “I think it would be a great way for the Mounds View community as a whole to show that we’re there to support people who struggle with mental illnesses,” said Moller.

The induction ceremony concluded with all 119 members following Jin in reciting the NHS pledge, in which students promise to encourage and maintain the four pillars of NHS. With the changes to NHS and the addition of new members, the Mounds View NHS community looks to keep promoting scholarship, service, leadership and character.

On May 6th, the music video This is America was released by Childish Gambino as a cultural phenomenon. This song portrays the many ills currently plaguing society (as well as have in the past), and how desensitized we are to them. Such ills include mental health, racial issues, consumerism and gun obsession.

With southern African music and dances playing throughout the majority of the song, black culture is celebrated while all of the issues we face are ignored. Not only this, but the dances are used as a distraction from the background, and resemble the Jim Crow symbol from the past. In the background, crimes are constantly breaking out, someone commits suicide, and a hooded man riding a white horse, which is a biblical symbol for the apocalypse, rides by.

While all of these symbolic meanings shock us, the biggest shock comes through the gun violence we witness throughout the music video, resembling past shootings, as well as the ways we prioritize guns in comparison to human lives. In each of the two shooting scenes, the gun is taken away with care and wrapped in a red cloth, while the body is just dragged away carelessly. This suggests that red America, or the Republican demographic, cherish guns more than lives. In the next shooting that takes place with the choir, it is clear that this is a resemblance of the Charleston church shooting in 2015, where nine African Americans were shot down by a white supremacist and racial discriminations were drawn.

Even with all of these deplorable crimes going on, many people, children included, are too stuck in their phones and worried about recording the crimes to take action and do something about it. Also, Donald Glover, the main actor in the music video that goes by the stage name of Childish Gambino, represents America. In the last scene of the video there are tons of old car models, and thus he is portraying how America is stuck and is therefore unable to progress.

Overall, This is America is a very relevant and much needed voice in America right now, saying what no one else is willing or able to say. It both reflects on the past and present and demonstrates how we are doing nothing about these issues, and how we should take action.

The 21st annual Mounds View High School Physics Fair was held Monday night. Students in all physics classes spent nearly two months preparing for the fair in groups of two to four by creating a Rube Goldberg machine that incorporates components including a propeller car, hovercraft, tracked vehicle and catapult. Groups then added their own optional components, designs and pizzazz to give their projects creative themes ranging from the continent of Africa to the television show Stranger Things.

The students first presented their projects and knowledge of physics to judges. Then, at around 8:30 p.m., the projects were all set up for a chain reaction. Each class took turns connecting their projects and triggering them one after another. Dense mobs of students and parents crowded around the display tables, cheering as the reactions progressed. Groups jumped and yelled in relief when their projects functioned flawlessly, and those whose projects didn’t work as planned generally laughed and manually helped their reaction proceed.

Although the lead up to the fair was stressful for many students who wished to make their projects perfect, the night itself had an atmosphere of fun, accomplishment and enjoyment for everyone rather than stark success or failure. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked on one project for so long, but I learned so much and had fun, even if [our project] didn’t work too well,” said Reuben Gardos Reid, 12.

Mounds View boys basketball played in a Senior Night to remember on Tuesday, Feb. 27, defeating Park High School 72-51. Captain Colin Jones, 12, set the pace with an early three pointer, and Mounds View took a 10-1 lead within the first four minutes of the game. That rout grew to 17 points, with the Mustangs commanding a 35-18 lead at halftime. Mounds View continued its dominance in the second half, always staying ahead by at least 16 points. When the clock hit zero, the 19 point win was by far Mustangs’ biggest of the year.

Captain Brendan Kauls, 11, led the team with 18 points. Jones scored 13, and Beejay Blevins, 12, and Josh Albers, 11, each provided ten. In a fitting tribute, all the seniors were given playing time in their last home game and helped contribute to the win. “It feels great to win on Senior Night,” said captain Michael Fahim, 12. “Especially after we’ve struggled a bit this year, it’s great to finish with a W.”